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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25536289">Between the Heavens and Earth</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cafe_au_late/pseuds/cafe_au_late'>cafe_au_late</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephirron/pseuds/Sephirron'>Sephirron</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AtLA, Edeleth centric, F/F, LOK - Freeform, avatar AU, mentions of Golden Deer and Blue Lions characters, no beta we die like Glenn, ratings may change as we update</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:06:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,612</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25536289</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cafe_au_late/pseuds/cafe_au_late, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephirron/pseuds/Sephirron</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Edelgard loathes the Avatar and will do anything to put them down, to make the world see the error of blindly romanticizing a so-called hero and give the reins back to humanity. She befriends Byleth, a wandering mercenary and skilled Earthbender who seems to know nothing about the imbalances in the world that threaten to tear it apart.</p><p>When Byleth is revealed as the new Avatar, she is nothing like Edelgard had imagined the legend to be. Byleth is kind but the world is cruel and Edelgard must choose: her ideals or her heart.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Between the Heavens and Earth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome to our FE3H x Avatar AU! We are super excited to share this project we’ve been working on for weeks with all of you! Seriously, our doc looks like a whole research project (there’s math involved). We have a mix of the ATLA and LoK world to explore with our favorite gays (but timeline wise mostly the LoK world. We wanted to be able to play with different technology things!).</p><p>The whole fic will be Edeleth centric and more focused around the Black Eagles with little snippets into the other Eagles and their relationships. (The other houses and characters do make appearances though, don’t worry!)</p><p>Please enjoy, let us know what you think!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>A storm was brewing in the sky, covering the plains in a flood. Lightning struck, the grassy land becoming ablaze with a raging fire. At the head of a cliff, the wind whipped past a group of warriors, staring dismally at an approaching army, hungry for blood. At the front of the group, a green-haired woman stood, stoic and unmoving, a sea of blues draped over her lithe form. Behind her, ranks stood in robes of white and navy blue, readily awaiting her orders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was all a blur after that, shadows of warriors bending the elements in full destruction. Fire raged in arcs, the rain turning to ice and shooting off in all directions, the earth breaking beneath their feet, and powerful gusts bringing many to their knees.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a bloody battle and one that was fought tirelessly for what felt like hours. It ended with a spear of ice through the leader’s heart and what little remains of the enemy’s forces began retreating. And just like that the air became still. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, like piercing lights, eyes glowed and radiated into a blinding explosion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the light faded, all that remained were those with robes of white and blue, searching frantically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The green-haired woman had disappeared and her dead enemy was long gone as if they had never existed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hey, Byleth. Time to wake up.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The world came into view once again, a campfire crackling in the quiet night. A teal-haired woman rubbed at her eyes, her father coming into view in front of her. Her senses returned, realizing she had fallen asleep in her makeshift bed on the forest floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, were you having that dream again?” her father, Jeralt, asked, poking at the fire to keep it alive.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth stifled a yawn and stretched her arms above her head. “I was dreaming about a war…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A war, huh,” Jeralt said noncommittally. “The war ended long before you were born.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth hummed at his response, looking into the heart of the fire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should pack up soon and move out, I got wind of a new job within the Empire from the villagers in Remire.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth nodded and retreated from her bed, rolling it and tying it up. She grabbed her hooded gray coat from where it was draped over a log, fastening it shut, adjusting the metal armor plates on her shoulders and wrists. She clipped her belt around her waist and secured a single dagger, sheathed in blue. It was in that moment, she heard the sounds of weapons clashing and men shouting in the distance. They knew well enough that a battle was breaking loose. Soon after the first sound, they heard a woman shout, sounding pained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They made eye contact, the glow of the fire flickering over their faces becoming serious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Time to go, kid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth sprang up from her seat, Jeralt following suit. With a swift stomp, Jeralt extinguished the fire by summoning a small stone dome over it, sealing it away. They ran just outside of the campfire circle and then stomped the ground beneath their feet, the earth rising like a platform. They swung their arms in arcs in a rowing motion, the platform skating forward with ease. The trees were a blur as they sped through the forest and in the clearing, they saw the sight of a group of bandits converging on a white-haired girl. Her hair was splayed wildly, dressed in an Adrestian military jacket of red, gold, and black that had been torn from the scuffle. A large axe had been strapped to her back. The girl was wincing and looking pained as she weakly conjured a wall of fire in front of her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The action made her fall to her knees, gasping for breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth jumped off the platform and landed on the ground, a boulder coming up from the surface now, and roundhouse kicked the hunk of earth at the bandits, scattering them in all directions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeralt had helped the fallen girl up, still heaving breaths from exhaustion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“W-Who the hell are you?” she sputtered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your lucky day, it seems.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The skies were a brilliant blue, a vivid colour that Edelgard wanted to burn into her vision. There were only a handful of lazy puffy white clouds moseying their way across the horizon without a care in the world. The sunshine beamed gently across her face, washing over her in a wave of warmth unlike any other. Birds sang, leaves rustled. All in all, it was a perfect day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a freedom in simply standing there in the middle of the forest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A freedom that Edelgard had nearly forgotten. The darkness lingered in the corners of her mind, a heavy pressure on her back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Edelgard always cherished moments like this. It always felt like it would be snatched away from her at any moment now, forced to return to a prison of darkness and suffering.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If only she weren’t forced to follow an absolute bumbling fool from the Knight of Seiros around in the forest, then maybe this would be a perfect day. Hubert was away for now, following said bumbling fool around while Edelgard scouted the area ahead of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had been wandering in this part of the forest for the last few days now and it was feeling more and more like this effort to locate the Avatar by following this supposed member of the Knights of Seiros who allegedly had all the tools to find the Avatar was a wild goose chase.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even in a wild goose chase, there at least was a chase. This was a slow walk of frustration in a forest. They had taken nonsensical twists and turns, doubling back on themselves multiple times in the span of an hour, the entire time, he was whistling an annoying repetitive tune.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How could someone so ridiculous be a part of an all important group that was supposed to protect and train the Avatar? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ugh, the Avatar. Some kind of legendary person who would magically appear to solve all the problems in the word so instead of solving these problems, nations would just let them fester, assuming the appearance of the avatar would somehow magically fix all of their issues for them. If you had a hole in your roof, you patched it, you didn’t just sit around waiting for someone else to fix the hole for you and to let the hole grow bigger and bigger until you had no roof.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Society was a horrendous mess full of prejudice, hate, and violence and would keep being that way, unwilling to change as long as they believed that the avatar would </span>
  <em>
    <span>restore the balance</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But there was never any balance to restore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Edelgard sighed, she hadn’t come across anything interesting in the last few hours either. There were no signs of human activities where she had examined. Waiting around until nightfall also seemed particularly inefficient- as did doubling back on her previous route. She would meet up with Hubert again once their target made camp for the night and they would also camp nearby, hidden away so they could keep an eye on their target- but that was still quite a few hours away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Something in the base of Edelgard’s neck prickled, urging her to leap to the side. She followed that instinct, rolling out of the way as a few arrows thudded into the tree that she had been standing in front of, burying themselves deeply into the bark.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The forest fell silent again as Edelgard rolled back up to her feet, watching her surroundings wearily. She hadn’t been able to sense anyone in her vicinity, perhaps this was a trap that she had sprung by accident?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No. She would have noticed springing the trap somehow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Someone else was here. Whoever they were, they were good.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instinctively again, Edelgard ducked out of the way as two more arrows slammed into trees with hefty </span>
  <em>
    <span>thwoks</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She propelled herself forward, into the underbrush where the arrows came from, fire bursting from her hands and feet in streams. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>People hiding in the thick underbrush threw themselves out of her fiery warpath as she tore a clean path through the foliage, leaving smoldering destruction in her wake. A few unfortunate ones were blasted out of her way, sending them flying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>More and more people emerged from their hiding spots, pouring out of a nearby cave. Ten. Fifteen. No, there were about thirty bandits present, and Edelgard had no idea how many more were present. These bandits had been holed up here for a long time it seemed, perhaps a base of operations of some sort? They had a long time to prepare and hide themselves.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No point in giving them any more time to prepare then, Edelgard told herself grimly and launched into the fray with a large blast of fire emanating from a sharp jab of her fist, aimed to move the bandits on her left side more over to the right. If she let herself get surrounded, it would be trouble. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were a few shrieks as some unfortunate bandits were slower than the others and got caught in the blast. Their clothes quickly caught fire as they were slammed into trees by the force of the attack. She had to keep on the offensive, if she let up for even a moment, their numbers could overwhelm her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Flames burst from her fists, a volley of fireballs rocketing forth with a sharp flurry of punches. Each fireball found its mark, exploding into a bright blaze. For all the bandits that she took down, more seemed to come creeping out of the shadows to take their place. There was a never ending stream of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>More arrows flew past her, she deflected the bulk of them with a circular motion, calling up a circular wave of fire that disintegrated the wooden shafts into piles of ash, leaving the pointed arrowheads to clink to the ground harmlessly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few of the bandits with swords bull-rushed her, and she jettisoned away from them with another large blast of flame from the bottom of her feet, catching a few of them off guard and knocking them to the ground while some of the quicker ones dove out of the way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She landed up in a tree, trying to get a good view of the enemies’ numbers and positions. Unfortunately, the foliage was so dense in that direction that there wasn’t any way that she could find a decent vantage point to see if there were more reinforcements on the way. It was probably best she left the area and tried to regroup with Hubert.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Edelgard cursed as a barrage of arrows whizzed by her, flying through the dense foliage. She managed to deflect most of the arrows but a stray arrow grazed her cheek. There was a sting in the wound that felt like the arrow had scored bone deep even though it was a shallow and superficial cut. Edelgard knew that there was something more to it. Something was wrong.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Poison</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small wave of dizziness washed over her suddenly. She let out a cry of pain as a second arrow embedded itself into her shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Got her!” came a bandit’s triumphant cry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had to keep moving. Edelgard leapt out of the tree, struggling to maintain her trajectory with brief flares of fire. The ground wavered in front of her and for a second, Edelgard thought that one of the bandits was an earthbender and there was an actual wave of earth coming up at her. But the moment passed, the ground solidifying before her eyes again as she crash-landed into a roll against the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She yelped as the roll put added pressure on her newly injured shoulder, pushing the arrow deeper into her flesh. That was definitely going to have to need some serious medical attention. Whatever poison that they had dipped their arrows in, it certainly was very very potent.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another sharp jab of pain lanced through her arm as an arrow sliced past her forearm, opening up another gash. They were going to wear her down, death by a thousand papercuts. Edelgard stumbled to her feet, a gloved hand on Aymr, making sure that the axe that was harnessed to her back was still there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The dizziness worsened as more poison entered her system.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She definitely needed to move away from this area, now. There were too many of them concentrated here. She could probably deal with them a few at a time, but certainly not this many at once. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Concentrating, she tried to focus on more jets of fire so that she could zip through the forest, but at the first little flare, she found herself doubling over as a sharp wave of pain shot through her entire body. The little flare was enough to send her skidding across the ground, tumbling wildly out of control. A couple more arrows left more little cuts, she was fortunate enough to be able to dodge the worst of it though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t even think about bending your way out of this, little girl. Bending only makes the poison travel further and quicker through your system. It’ll only hurt more if you struggle.” Edelgard looked around her wildly. Bandits were coming out of the foliage, stalking toward her like predators bearing down on wounded prey. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their leader, an older man with strange looking facial hair- Edelgard really couldn’t tell if that was the poison making her vision swim or if this man actually had this facial hair, stepped forward, his axe glinting ominously in the sunlight. He hefted it over his shoulder with a terrible smile. “We had the poison made specially for benders like you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were coming closer to her now, fanning out to surround her as she scrambled to her feet, trying to put some distance between them but it was a futile effort. The mere motion of standing up took so much effort and energy that it felt like she had just run for hours and hours. Her limbs felt like jello and her insides twisted horribly as the entire world spun around her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a last ditch effort, Edelgard threw a hand upward, mustering all the strength that she possibly could to bring up a wall of fire between her and the bandits.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wouldn’t be enough, Edelgard realized bitterly. The poison pulsed through her, driving her to her knees as her weak wall of fire flickered uncertainly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a rumble in the distance, something that Edelgard wasn’t sure what to make of it, her senses jumbled and confused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hopefully not the bandit’s reinforcements.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Edelgard didn’t realize that it would be something so much worse.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, are you alright?” Byleth asked, joining her father in his guard, assuming a battle stance in front of Edelgard. With a sweep of her hand, she summoned a trench, scattering the dirt over the raging flames to avoid burning down the entire forest. The bandits were scrambling to stand again, reaching blindly for their weapons, trying to search through the smoke for them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Peachy,” Edelgard replied, gritting her teeth. “Watch out, they have poison in their weapons. It makes it almost too unbearingly painful to bend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a wonder how you survived,” Jeralt said offhandedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve taken worse hits,” Edelgard said dimly. “Who are you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m Jeralt. That kid over there is my daughter.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Byleth,” she supplied. “Let us handle this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Edelgard didn’t have much energy left to argue, slumping against the tree and nodding her assent. Jeralt and Byleth bent a flurry of boulders at the bandits, a few precise hits knocking some of them out cold. Their forces were still many. A bandit wildly approached Byleth, swinging his sword in a horizontal strike. Byleth pivoted backwards, dodging the swing, and mimicked another arching kick. A pillar of rock sprung from the ground from her motion and hit him right in the temple, knocking him off his feet, as he tumbled on the ground then going completely still. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeralt had many of the bandits forces converging on him but where he lacked in speed, he excelled in strength. He disrupted the earth beneath them causing them to lose their foothold. In a series of powerful strikes, full of unwavering force and will, he launched several of them into the air and shot smaller boulders into their torsos.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was then an explosion burst forth, splitting the two groups apart, Byleth and Jeralt covering their eyes from the debris that flew. Byleth moved her gaze to the source of the attack, looking into the forest. A man, which Byleth could only describe as the literal personification of a shadow, rushed out of the bushes. From his hands he launched another explosive, the trajectory hitting its target, effectively silencing the crowd of the remaining enemies.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A combustion bender?” Jeralt wondered aloud, Byleth turning to him curiously. “Well I’ll be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man paid them no mind as he made his path right for the fallen girl. “Lady Edelgard, are you alright?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Edelgard blinked at him slowly, the haze of the poison blurring her vision. “Hubert,” she whispered as he took one of her hands in his own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happened here?” Hubert demanded, glaring at Jeralt and Byleth who had been observing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“D-Don’t blame them, they saved me,” Edelgard cut in softly, making eye contact with Byleth who had concern laced in her blue eyes. She offered what felt like a small smile but she couldn’t tell in the state she was in. She slid her glance to the fallen bandits, narrowing her eyes at the piles of weapons. “Poison. In the blades.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to get you to a healer, immediately,” Hubert said quickly, making a move to help Edelgard from her feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was at that moment, a glint of steel emerged from the forest and Byleth locked her eyes on it at the start of its downswing, aiming right for the duo. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look out!” she yelled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And in a blur, Byleth had rushed forward from her position, shoving Hubert aside from the swing and covering Edelgard with her body, acting as a shield. She had no idea what possessed her to do so, surely there were more effective and less deadly ways to protect a person. But she moved purely on instinct, the thought to protect the girl from harm her only goal. She braced for the strike, waiting for the blade to cut through the flesh of her back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The strike never came.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The blade fell uselessly to the side, a stray bandit tumbling out of the bushes, unconscious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aha! I got him!” a booming voice sounded and a large man emerged out of the forest, looking victorious with a wide grin. He then opened his eyes and looked at the scene in front of him, bodies strewn about, the earth torn apart, and the smoke filling the air. “Spirits... what happened here?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh no…” Jeralt groaned to himself. Byleth heard it and raised a brow at him in question from her hunched position, still shielding Edelgard. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As if reading her mind, the burly man locked eyes on her father and his eyes widened in surprise. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Captain Jeralt!” the man exclaimed, nearly stumbling as he ran over to him. “Spirits above! I haven’t seen you in ages! Is it really you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeralt heaved a deep sigh. “Hello, Alois.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It really is you! Fortune is smiling upon me today!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alois launched into an animated conversation, his tone jovial and exclamatory as Jeralt only nodded along, an expression of disinterest and mild annoyance on his face. Alois continued to speak even as Jeralt knelt down in the grass, picking up a stray weapon and examining it closely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Unhand her,” a threat filled Byleth’s ears. She turned, making eye contact with Hubert who had scowled at her and dusted himself off from when she shoved him into the dirt. Byleth realized her arms were still around Edelgard who, although pale, looked on her with curiosity and a mix of mild disbelief. Byleth awkwardly unwrapped her arms, moving away to give Edelgard space, Hubert tossing her one more dirty look before doting upon Edelgard again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” Byleth said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“S’okay,” Edelgard mumbled through her bouts of consciousness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hubert looked to be distressed. It wasn’t written plainly in his face, Byleth had a feeling that his death-like facial expression was a usual one. But she saw the slightest crease in his brow and the way his jaw ticked, clenching his teeth. Edelgard’s breath was shallow and beaded sweat had pooled at her temples, eyes clenched tightly at whatever pain was wracking through her body. Like Hubert, Byleth wandered every corner of her mind on how to help her but only arriving at one morbid conclusion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Edelgard wouldn’t make it very far.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeralt had come up behind Byleth, the bandit’s discarded weapon still in his hands. Byleth looked up at him, narrowing her eyes just a bit. Jeralt only lowered the blade to Byleth’s line of sight, catching the glint of the moon. Byleth saw it then, the metallic residue to the poison that had coated the blade. Byleth understood what he had been insinuating but it didn’t make it any easier to accept. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sighed, turning to Edelgard again, reaching for her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What </span>
  </em>
  <span>do you think you’re doing?” Hubert hissed, giving Byleth his most withering glare. She didn’t flinch under the threat but frowned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The poison is metallic. I can bend the metal out but.” Byleth paused, locking eyes with Edelgard’s, who had been peering at her through hooded lids. She tried to smile reassuringly at the firebender but Byleth was sure it was mixed with a grimace. She warned, “It’s going to hurt.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you think I’m going to let a complete stranger like you just violate-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you would shut up long enough to stop threatening me, you would know that she won’t make it to any healer within miles if you don’t let me do this,” Byleth cut him off, steel-blue eyes glaring at him now, rigid with determination and a challenge. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What makes you think I can possibly trust you with this? That a wandering traveler like you just so happens to bend metal as well? It’s absurd.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m the best chance you’ve got,” Byleth pressed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hubert’s lips pressed into a thin line as he gave Edelgard another once-over. He exhaled quietly through his nose, his head bowing slightly. Byleth took it as an answer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Edelgard,” Byleth called softly, feeling the name on her lips for the first time. She moved, sitting closer to the girl. Edelgard’s eyes slid sluggishly to meet her own, a bare glint of recognition in her lilac eyes. “I’m going to lay you down and I’m going to get that poison out, okay? I want you to squeeze onto Hubert’s hand as hard as you can when the pain comes. Struggling will only make it worse.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Edelgard gave her a slow nod as Byleth removed the axe on her back, setting it aside. She was laid gently on the grass, her head on Byleth’s lap to keep her supported, and one hand tucked in Hubert’s palm. Byleth put a hand against Edelgard’s forehead, a sheen of cold sweat beneath her palm. Byleth closed her eyes and breathed slow, feeling the bits of earth in the metal as if they were at her fingertips. In her mind’s eye, she could feel the pools of poison swirling and drifting. She inhaled deep as she moved her hands above Edelgard’s body, looking as if she were pulling against an invisible force. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Edelgard groaned from deep within her throat, fighting the urge to thrash on the ground and squeezing on Hubert’s hand in a crushing grip. Silent tears streamed down her face as she bit her lip until it nearly bled. Byleth felt horrible for causing such pain but Edelgard’s eyes told a different story as she continued to bend at the metal. The fire in them was returning, a look of defiance in the face of adversity. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth couldn’t help but wonder how she could even think to feel this way, nearly writhing in pain on the forest floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once Byleth felt the metal pool in the center of Edelgard’s chest, she formed her fingers into a claw-like grip in the air, and extended her hand outwards and away from her body. A metallic liquid was drawn from Edelgard’s lips as she sputtered and coughed. With a smooth motion, the poison was bent to the forest floor and sunk into the earth. It was a small amount, nothing that couldn’t be recovered from now that it was out of Edelgard’s system but she would still need rest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lady Edelgard?” Hubert said, voice low. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Edelgard blinked, tiredly, but still managed to spare him a small nod as her grip loosened from the vice grip she had on his hand. It was enough for the tension to roll off his shoulders. Edelgard looked up at Byleth then, still in her lap, utterly drained. It didn’t stop her from expressing her gratitude.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Byleth,” she whispered, the barest hint of a smile on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth released the breath she had been holding, relief washing over her. She placed her hand gently on Edelgard’s forehead once again, watching her eyes close at the touch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Rest, Edelgard. You’re safe now.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A moment of silence passed, Edelgard’s breathing slowing down as she fell asleep, finally giving into the exertion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s out of danger but we should get her to a healer,” Jeralt said. Alois nodded along with him, his fingers stroking at his chin as he thought. And like an idea had struck, Alois’s eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers, epiphany realized.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You should come to Garreg Mach Monastery!” he proclaimed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would ask that you would keep your boisterous bumbling to a minimum while Lady Edelgard rests,” Hubert cut in, voice firm and threatening. Alois straightened up and Jeralt only shook his head in exasperation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As it stands, Alois is right. The monastery’s healers can take care of her better than anyone in this country,” Jeralt pointed out, crossing his arms at the mere thought of going along with one of Alois’s plans. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hubert nodded slowly and Byleth was surprised he didn’t put up more of a fight. He did however, when Byleth made her move to pick Edelgard up from the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth nearly rolled her eyes. “I’m carrying her so we can get out of here,” she said plainly. She reached for Edelgard’s axe then, tossing it to Hubert as he caught the metal hilt, nearly toppling over at the weight. He scowled at the amusement plain on her face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Hubert could argue and threaten her further, Jeralt spoke up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey sparky sparky boom boy! You going to waste time arguing or will you come up here and help us scout for any more bandits crawling out of their holes like that swarm we just ran into?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hubert blinked, panning his head left and right between Byleth and Jeralt, his brow twitching at the sight of Byleth’s smug smile. He grumbled as he joined Jeralt and Alois at the front, deciding that defending their position was more important in that moment. With his back turned, Byleth maneuvered Edelgard onto her back, supporting her beneath her thighs and adjusting her arms to hang around her neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Byleth followed Alois’s lead on the road to the monastery with the sounds of the softest snoring in her ear, smothering her smile in the cover of night. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hit us up on twitter @EdelgardEisner @bardigrade for the gay things we scream about and updates. While you’re there, check out @Fodlan_Olympics for our major collab shenanigans dropping in August! </p><p>If you enjoyed what you read, we also have some ongoing multichapter projects going on! Consider checking out:</p><p>cafe_au_late’s Heist AU: You Must Be A Thief (You Stole My Heart), Black Eagles and Edeleth Centric, gay thieves are featured!  </p><p>edelgard_eisner’s HSAU Dance AU: What Good’s A Dreamer (Without A Believer), Edeleth centric with characters from all three houses, gay thirst and drama for all! </p><p>Thank you for reading! As always, kudos and comments are always much appreciated :)</p><p>Stay safe and see you soon??</p></blockquote></div></div>
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